This Map Shows the Salary You'd Need to Buy an Average Home in Every State

Buying a home has long been part of the American dream. But with middle-class incomes stagnant and home prices rising, for many that goal can feel out of grasp.

The U.S. home ownership rate is now lower than it’s been in decades, and millennials are more likely to live at home than any generation in living memory. And yet there are still several places in the country where home ownership remains well within reach of the typical worker.

We assumed the home buyer put 10% down and took out a 30-year fixed mortgage at a rate of 4.8% — close to today’s national average. We also factored in property taxes, using state-by-state data from the Tax Foundation, and assumed each prospective home buyer could afford to devote 30% of their salary to housing costs. (For simplicity’s sake, we didn’t factor in mortgage insurance or other ongoing costs.)

As you can see, affordability varies enormously depending on where you live. In Washington, D.C., where the median home costs nearly $620,000, you need to earn about $137,000 to afford a typical residence. The median income in D.C., however, is under $71,000 — a mismatch that inevitably creates a lot of frustrated home buyers.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky it’s a very different story. With the median home price just under $190,000, a typical worker needs to earn just over $43,000 to buy it. Since the state’s median income is above $45,000, Kentucky’s homes should be comfortably affordable.

Indeed, only 19 states have an actual median income that tops the amount needed to buy a home: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Read on to see a few sample listings, from around the country, that come close to the median price.